Association of Oliguria With Acute Kidney Injury Diagnosis, Severity Assessment, and Mortality Among Patients With Critical Illness

Key Points Question What is the contribution of the oliguria-based Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria to diagnosis, severity assessment, and outcomes in acute kidney injury (AKI)? Findings In this cohort study of 15 620 patients admitted to an intensive care unit, consideration of oliguria-based criteria, in addition to those based on serum creatinine levels alone, enabled identification of AKI or an increase in its severity in 51.7% of critically ill patients. Moreover, oliguria-based stages 2 and 3 AKI appeared to be statistically significantly associated with 90-day mortality after correction for serum creatinine level, comorbidities, and illness severity. Meaning These findings suggest that oliguria, as defined by the KDIGO criteria, is associated with mortality in AKI and should be accounted for by clinicians at the bedside and clinical researchers while designing trials.